Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Hell to Pay!

This is Oddest Jobs, the new anthology of Hellboy stories that contains my 'Feet of Sciron' tale. It also contains tales by Joe R Landsdale, China Miéville, Tad Williams and many others, each story nicely illustrated by the excellent artist Mike Mignola. I didn't know anything about Hellboy before the editor Christopher Golden asked me for a contribution. I haven't seen any of the films yet but I might do so now. The book in the photo is flanked by a pterodactyl and what is almost certainly a komodo dragon.

Learning about the Hellboy mythos has filled me with a desire to create something similar, but I must take special care that my inspiration isn't too direct. Hellboy is a good demon in the employ of an efficient government bureau that fights against supernatural evil, so my own hero has to be something other than a demon. I already know that he'll be a golem who falls into a vat of nitroglycerine before his clay has properly dried, turning him into a sentient stick of dynamite. I also know that his name will be Twisthorn Bellow. I don't know much else yet.